CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48 UNCLE MO

"Yes, every time I leave the house, my daughter is always reluctant to see me go." Heizi’s tone became gentle when he talked about his daughter as if he had endless things to say, and even his fierce expression softened.

Tang Yue continued, "How tall is your daughter? Is she taller than me?"

Heizi glanced at her and said, "A bit shorter than you."

"How much shorter?" Tang Yue’s voice was gentle, innocent, and harmless, causing Heizi to let down his guard without realizing it.

Heizi gestured with his hands.

These few short exchanges took only a few breaths.

Seizing the opportunity, Tang Yue pushed Heizi’s hand away with great force, and at the same time, she squatted down and rolled to the side.

Mo Siyu, who had been standing still, acted in an instant, throwing a pebble at Heizi’s wrist.

With a ’bang,’ the knife in Heizi’s hand dropped to the ground.

Heizi, clutching his painful wrist, kept retreating. The knife had already fallen to the ground, and it was too late to pick it up again.

Like an arrow released from its bow, Mo Siyu kicked Heizi to the ground and swiftly subdued him.

After handing the man over to someone behind him, Mo Siyu said nothing in response to Heizi’s bluster; instead, he stepped aside, reached out to Tang Yue, and asked, "Why do you trust that once you push Heizi away, I would rescue you?"

"I trust you," said Tang Yue, her bright eyes twinkling, showing no signs of unhappiness due to any pain, but rather, she was excited to get up.

She automatically ignored Mo Siyu’s hand. Excited and elated, she looked up and asked, "Did he steal a truckload of apples from you? And your money as well? He couldn’t have robbed you all by himself, right?"

Her face flushed with excitement, her sparkling eyes bright as the stars in the sky. Her cheeks dimpled with smiles, making her smile as radiant as blooming flowers.

"He had accomplices," Mo Siyu did not intend to elaborate and found himself looking her over a few more times before asking, "Aren’t you supposed to be studying in Wangjiang County? What brings you to the Provincial City?"

Happy because she had helped Mo Siyu, she replied, "I’m here for a math competition. I heard there was a clothing factory around, so I came to have a look."

"By yourself?" Mo Siyu glanced at the middle-aged man who had climbed up from the ditch, noting that this place was far from the Provincial City.

"Uh..." Tang Yue instinctively touched her nose, remembering the promise she made to Uncle Mo and her parents when she came to the city, she immediately started to worry. The brightness that had been on her face turned into a frown. She clasped her hands together, beseechingly looked at him, and pleaded, "Mr. Mo, could you not mention this to Uncle Mo? If he finds out, he definitely won’t let me come here again."

In her urgency, Tang Yue inadvertently used the term of address from her previous life.

Mo Siyu corrected her, "Uncle Mo."

"Huh?" Tang Yue was thinking about begging him again so that he must agree, but out of the blue, Mo Siyu dropped a sentence that was completely unrelated to her plea.

For a moment, she was slow to react, her bright eyes staring blankly at him.

Seeing her look of confusion, the corners of Mo Siyu’s lips curled up subtly. Her expressions were so rich—she was all sunny and cheerful one moment, her smile brilliant, and the next, she was frowning as if the sky was falling, and then looking at him with total bewilderment. He found it quite adorable.

With patience, he explained again, "Call me Uncle Mo."

"Oh, Uncle Mo." This time Tang Yue got it right smoothly and continued to implore, "Uncle Mo, you’ll keep this a secret for me, right?"

Tang Yue looked sincere and even deliberately blinked as she said, "Uncle Mo, this is our secret. We won’t tell anyone else, okay?"

"It depends on your behavior," Mo Siyu said with a stern face. "Do you think you could have gotten back safely today if you hadn’t run into me?"

"I didn’t know it was so chaotic here," Tang Yue hung her head, muttering to herself. She truly hadn’t expected her luck to be so bad.

"Little girl, are you still going to the Qianjin Clothing Factory?" the middle-aged uncle quietly asked.

"Going." As soon as Tang Yue finished speaking, Mo Siyu stepped forward and said, "You can leave now."

"Okay." The middle-aged uncle didn’t think twice and immediately left.

Tang Yue hurried forward, wanting to say something but not daring to, her eyes secretly sizing up Mo Siyu.

Mo Siyu turned to leave, and seeing that Tang Yue had not followed, he stopped and asked, "Aren’t you coming?"

"Coming." Tang Yue quickly followed, and Mo Siyu, tall with long strides, walked so swiftly that she had to almost run to keep up with him.

"Brother Mo, this is..." Another man who had settled Heizi looked in surprise at Tang Yue following behind Mo Siyu. Tang Yue’s small, delicate figure was easy to overlook behind Mo Siyu.

However, if you were following Mo Siyu, it was impossible not to notice.

Everyone knew that in their sports car team, Brother Mo was the least interested in the opposite sex, and no woman dared to stand within a meter of him.

"Tang Yue," Mo Siyu began to speak, but seeing him widen his eyes in shock, he added, "My classmate Tang Mingli’s niece."

"Uh..." The man stared at Tang Yue, sizing her up.

"Hello uncle," Tang Yue greeted cheerfully.

"Hello," the man smiled and nodded, introducing himself, "I’m friends with Brother Mo. My name is Qin Huai’an."

He then quietly said to Mo Siyu, "Brother Mo, it turns out you like this type."

Mo Siyu gave him a cold glance.

Qin Huai’an instantly backed up a few steps and hurriedly said, "Brother Mo, I’ll take the people away first and leave a car for you."

After Qin Huai’an spoke, he quickly skedaddled, taking the black car that Heizi had been driving earlier with him.

When everyone had left, Mo Siyu pulled up in a utility vehicle in front of her. It was only then that Tang Yue came to her senses, thinking that her behavior just now had been a bit foolish.

"Get in the car," Mo Siyu said simply.

Tang Yue belatedly got into the car and then asked, "Uncle Mo, I still need to go to the Qianjin Clothing Factory."

Mo Siyu glanced at her and said, "The factory is closed for the next few days. Even if you go there, there will be nobody."

"Ah..." Tang Yue’s eyes showed undisguised disappointment. She asked, "How is that possible? Today isn’t a weekend, why would it close? That uncle just now didn’t say it was closed."

"Don’t believe it?" Mo Siyu drove back with Tang Yue, who tried to explain that it wasn’t that she didn’t believe him, but when they arrived, she saw the sign for the Qianjin Clothing Factory, the worn letters showing their age, looking quite old. The iron gate covered in rust was closed tight, and it was quiet inside, with not a soul in sight.